Dear Marcel Khalife,
Thank you for your second letter.
The only point that I think I need to make in response is that Ms Alberstein was invited to participate in the festival because of her artistry and musicianship, not because of her nationality. This is the case with all artists invited to participate in the festival.
As I said previously while we respect your decision we are equally saddened by it as by the reasons for it, particularly given the very real efforts we undertake to make the festival a global gathering of the arts.
With regard to the detail of your position regarding your withdrawal from our festival, once again you have our sympathies but our opinions clearly differ and we must move on and let the issue rest with you.
With all good wishes and the hope that the current crisis is soon resolved for all concerned,
Yours sincerely,
IAN SCOBIE
Event Director
Womadelaide
